I figure here is as good a place to ask as any-- many of you grow your own herbs.

so I have a black thumb. I figure I OUGHT to be able to grow basil in a container, but this is the second time the following has happened...I plan a couple of nice basil plants into my patio container...two and a half weeks in, the stems of the basil are brownish/blackish at the base, where they meet the soil...

Yes, it's def. withering at the soil line...I potted this into some of the same soil that had the same problem back in the spring--then it dried out to dust...I probably removed about half the soil to add these new plants with their pot soil to the container...

One quick fix that worked in the past for us (by luck?) is to re-pot adding more soil above the fungus line. This worked for us before, so might do the trick here. Also consider the old favourite of standing the pot in a little water, allowing the plant to take what it needs and encourage root growth.

Ours was grown from seed this year and thankfully haven't encountered the problem. Both purple and sweet (Genovese) basil doing fine, which is a surprise for the purple basil as it's very delicate. Hoping to match the Basil with home-grown tomatoes for a home-made bruschetta (might even bake some bread for this as well!)